Ger: its an interesting speech by Putin, but if what one does in ones free time defines one, then I’m not the best person in the world – cigarettes, cigarettes, cups of tea and books…I’m so lazy its atrocious.

Books are good for you, right? Much better than looking at a glowing screen all day. And despite the pictures of outdoor activities, gluttony would better describe my typical vacation to Russia.

I too find that I speak Russian much better after a few shots of vodka, but there is certainly a tipping point where it goes downhill fast.

I found one academic article to support alcohol’s effect: “The effects of experimentally induced changes in ego states on pronunciation ability in a second language: an exploratory study” by Guiora et al. 1972.

As if we needed any academic research to prove that! I noticed that from age 16 while talking to foreign exchange students at parties.

The great thing about “managed democracy” is that you can get away with things like that!

In addition, to enhancing a better physical well being, some recent studies conclude that physical fitness has a positive massaging affect on the brain. I’m not so sure how their overall statements on Russia correspond with those studies.

I’m not sure how much of Bush’s reported lack of discipline is backed up by evidence. The man is a recovered alcoholic, which probably takes as much self-discipline as learning Russian.

Keep in mind a recent goof of hers when she referred to contemporary Russia as the Soviet Union. I recall a NYT op-ed from her where she said that Russia should be blamed for Soviet faults and it shouldn’t be allowed in NATO. This was before the first wave of post Cold War NATO expansion. Has she ever written anything that’s considered profound? Mind you that she’s an academic. A political one at that.

“Re. Condi’s russian: for all I have heard about it it’s good.”

Never heard her speak it, but from what I’ve heard it’s not that good. A couple of times she’s committed linguistic gaffes in public, not something you want to do when you’re in a diplomatic profession.

Ger:

“its an interesting speech by Putin, but if what one does in ones free time defines one, then I’m not the best person in the world – cigarettes, cigarettes, cups of tea and books…I’m so lazy its atrocious.”

Well, if you remove the first 2 items (cigarettes & cigarettes) and add beer, that’s basically me. I’m happy with it.

I stand enlightened. The only other language I speak anyway decently is Irish and amazingly never have cause to use it at home, except with my Victor Meldrew of a father, so it came as an amazing suprise to me than my ability to chat up in Russian increased exponentially when totally pyani. As you can imagine, its also led me to plenty of crashes and burns. One night I met Dima Andropov, grandson of Yuri, at a flat party and conversed with him for most of the night even though his english is brutal( though he spent time in the US) and my Russian worse.We even went for a drunken walk in -20 degrees to a produkti for more booze, and I literally gave him the shirt off my back, an Ireland rugby jersey. Its amazing the shit that happens in Russia when one is totally plastered!!
Condi is a fairly serious worker alright and I’m not suprised her Russian is good. I’ve just never heard her speaking it.

Russophile/db330,

its an interesting speech by Putin, but if what one does in ones free time defines one, then I’m not the best person in the world – cigarettes, cigarettes, cups of tea and books…I’m so lazy its atrocious.

The two languages I speak fluently, and I speak both at the native/near native level, worsen under the influence of alcohol. You will probably find the same with your own native tongue.

You will also find that in formal situations your language becomes worse than in informal situations. I have a friend with whom I can blabber away in Russian for hours, but there are people I can’t keep up a basic conversation with for even a minute before falling back into English.

Your latent knowledge of a language is much bigger than your perceived active command.

Re. Condi’s russian: for all I have heard about it it’s good. There seems to be little she is not good at if it require hard work and discipline to do. Those are probably her most salient characteristics, which makes her a perfect counterpart to W. Bush – whose laziness and lack of discipline is legendary.

Anyway, gotta run. Have to do some professional brown nosing and sponging. What a despicable profession I have.